Category: Uncategorized
-
Rambling in Italian Alpine Val Camonica and the Passo dell’ Aprica
We’re both a little shattered by the sadness of the WWI museum, memorial and fort so when we start descending from the pass into Val Camonica, and I spy a campsite sign in Temù, even though we haven’t travelled more than 60 kilometres today, we swing into Camping Presanella and what a find it is.…
-
Over the Passo del Tonale from Trentino’s Val di Sole to Val di Camonica – The ‘Terrible Beauty’ of Majestic Mountains and the Shadows of War
We drive from Ossana up the winding road to the mountain pass which takes us out of Trentino’s Val di Sole and into Lombardy’s Val di Camonica – once border country between the emergent Italian state and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As we stop outside the first WWI museum in Vermiglio, we gaze up with awe…
-
Trentino’s Treasures – Lago di Terlago to Val di Sole
We drive through Vallelaghi’s mountains striped with rows of golden and red delicious apple orchards, through the narrowest gap in Terlago’s ancient town, its sturdy houses resembling fortresses. There’s a walking trail around Lago di Terlago beneath limestone cliffs, shaded by holm oaks and willows, wildflowers growing out from the rocks. Around the lake…
-
Laghi di Lamar – Trentino’s Watery Wonderland and Awesome Alps
The A22 to Trento is packed with the whole of Europe trying to avoid baking temperatures, so it’s a relief to hit the empty winding mountain road up to Camping Vallelaghi. 16 kilometres upwards and we’ve travelled to another dimension. White and pink limestone canines pierce the blue sky. The wooded slopes are a cool…
-
Bergamo – A Superlative Stop-Off
Seán finds a camper stop, 3 kilometres from the centre of Bergamo, Area Camper Citta’ dei Mille, with shade, grass, and full facilities. When we bowl up to the tarmac clad, bleak stop, we’re parked up by a woman who seems confused when we say we’ve booked and paid – that’s because we haven’t. We’re…
-
Lago di Varese and Maggiore’s Monvalle
Leaving the peace of the Aosta valley, we wrestle with the A4 before we turn off on the A26. The mountains reappear on the horizon like a mystical mirage. Seán has found a municipal camper-stop, or Sosta as they’re called in Italy, in Lake Varese’s Gavirate, a stone’s throw from its better-known cousin, Lake Maggiore.…
-
Italy’s Awesome Aosta Valley Region
In the Valle di Gran San Bernardo, we’re spoilt for choice as to which walking trail to follow. But we have a mission, our good friend Pina, who lives in Aosta, is taking us up to see her husband, Salva’s, paintings which are showing in the Castello di Bosses and who can resist art and…
-
Wonderful Walks in Aosta Valley’s Morgex
Just over the Piccolo San Bernardo Pass, we camp up at Arc en Ciel one kilometre walk from the town of Morgex. The terraced campsite is shaded with views of the glacier on the sharp toothed Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco. We fall asleep to the Dora Baltea River rushing by the campsite. The young…
-
The French Alps at La Lechère and the Petit St Bernard (or Piccolo Bernardo) Pass into Italy
We camp up on the outskirts of La Lechère merely because Marie France has a vacancy. We’ve got to stop before we face the road up to the St. Bernard Pass whose sheer drops are destined to send my nerves into overdrive and to have Seán demanding that I stop with the hand signals every…
-
From the Wicklow Mountains to the Puy de Dome
Walking along Glenmalure Valley granite monoliths are engraved with past battles and leaders from 1580 and 1798. It’s hard to imagine battles raging in this valley though the ruins of the old barracks and the military road are reminders of turbulent times. We walk along the valley floor to the end of Glenmalure to the…
Campervan Therapy 